Despite the current volatility in gasoline prices, inflation is gradually coming under control.
On Tuesday, The Epoch Times reported:
A decline in energy prices helped drive consumer inflation lower in June, providing relief for Americans, especially at the pump, the government reported on July 14.
The annual inflation rate eased sharply to a lower-than-expected 3.5 percent, from 4.2 percent.
The monthly U.S. inflation rate declined 0.4 percent last month, down from the 0.5 percent increase in May, according to new data from the Consumer Price Index released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Economists had forecast a 0.1 percent drop.
This represented the largest one-month decrease since April 2020, when it fell by 0.8 percent, the bureau said.
Excluding the volatile energy and food categories, core inflation came in at 0 percent. The annual core inflation rate slowed to 2.6 percent, from 2.9 percent.
We are moving in the right direction. I believe that as soon as the war in Iran settles out, inflation will decrease significantly.
The article concludes with some insight into what the Federal Reserve may do at its July meeting:
Investors do not expect the Fed to raise interest rates at this month’s policy meeting. But traders have made the September Federal Open Market Committee meeting their base case, with a 73 percent chance of a rate hike, according to CME FedWatch data.
Minutes from last month’s gathering indicate that officials believe tightening monetary policy is “warranted.”
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller believes the central bank should wait for more data before raising rates. At the same time, he stated that it was crucial to avoid the 2021 mistake of waiting too long.
“As always, we need to avoid making the mistake of fighting the last war and reacting too soon to tighten inflation, merely because we waited too long last time,” he said in prepared remarks. “But we also must avoid repeating the same mistake we made in 2021 and 2022 by waiting too long to respond.”
New Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh has hinted that inflation will be his primary focus, telling a European Central Bank audience that prices are still “too high.”
Financial markets could gain more insight into Warsh’s plans when he testifies on Capitol Hill for his two-day semi-annual monetary policy report.
The next Fed meeting will take place on July 28 and 29.